Difference between revisions of "Fairchild Channel F"

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Revision as of 10:02, 1 June 2013

Fairchild Channel F
[[File:Fairchild-Channel-F.jpg|230px]]
Manufacturer Fairchild Semiconductor
Generation Second generation
Release date August 1976 (US)
Media type ROM cartridge

The Fairchild Channel F is a game console released by Fairchild Semiconductor in August 1976 at the retail price of $169.95. It has the distinction of being the first programmable ROM cartridge–based video game console, and the first console to use a microprocessor. It was launched as the Video Entertainment System, or VES, but when Atari released their VCS the next year, Fairchild renamed its machine. By 1977, the Fairchild Channel F had sold 250,000 units and was second-place behind the VCS.

Technical specifications

  • CPU chip: Fairchild F8 operating at 1.79 MHz (PAL gen. 1: 2.00 MHz, PAL gen.2: 1.77 MHz)
  • RAM: 64 bytes, 2 kB VRAM (2×128×64 bits)
  • Resolution: 128 × 64 pixels, approximately 102 × 58 pixels visible depending on TV
  • Colors: eight colors (either black/white or four color max. per line)
  • Audio: 500 Hz, 1 kHz, and 1.5 kHz tones (can be modulated quickly to produce different tones)
  • Input: two custom game controllers, hardwired to the console (original release) or removable (Channel F System II)
  • Output: RF modulated composite video signal, cord hardwired to console


Channel F System II

Fairchild-Channel-F-II-Console.jpg

In 1979, Zircon International bought the rights to the Channel F and released the re-designed console as the Channel F System II to compete with the Atari's VCS.

The major changes were in design, with the controllers removable from the base unit instead of being wired directly into it, the storage compartment was moved to the rear of the unit, and the sound was now mixed into the TV signal so the unit no longer needed a speaker. This version also featured a simpler and more modern-looking case design.